Being a Book of Days... with Astronomy, Weather Lore, Recipes, Customs, Reasons to Celebrate, and Views from the Breakdown Lane

01 June 2011

1 June - Kalends of June

This is the Eve of the Feast of Our Lord's Ascension into Heaven, and traditionally a day to give alms, in anticipation of the feast.

Since beans are part of the celebration today (see below), consider donating cans of baked beans to the local soup kitchen or St. Vincent de Paul Society. And please remember that gift cards to the local supermarket can always be used to fill in the shelves as needed. Trust me. There is great need.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Weather: If it rains on the 1st of June, there will be fifty-seven rains in June, July, and August.

If it rains on the first three days of June, there will be no wild grapes.
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On the Kalends of June, Romans of the Republic honored Carna, an ancient goddess who protected the internal organs from disease, and in children, from assaults by vampire-like creatures called striges. Macrobias says in his Saturnalia: "Prayers are offered to this goddess for the good preservation of liver, heart, and other internal organs of our bodies. Her sacrifices are bean-meal and lard, because this is the best food for the nourishment of the body."

[How far we have come! Today, lard is considered especially bad for the heart.]

He continues: "Among the common people also, the kalends of June are called the bean kalends [Kalendae Fabariae], because during that month, full-sized beans are used among sacred offerings."

Well, I don't know what sweet digestion the Romans had. I do know what beans tend to do to the digestions of my acquaintance. Without being too indelicate here, I have come across an Old-World belief that expelling the air from the body (in ways we would consider rude) was good for the heart; it is 'holding it in' that creates heart problems. Perhaps the ancient Romans subscribed to that belief, as well.

Be that as it may, beans and pork are a natural combination. Salt pork, ham hocks and shanks, bacon slices and bacon fat - all show up in recipes for baked beans, bean soups, and beans-and-rice dishes, while cans of generic pork'n'beans (including the - shudder - 'heart healthy' no sodium, no fat, no taste) are a staple at any barbecue.